SETTING UP AND MOVING A PENDULUM CLOCK by Brian Loomes, UK oving a pendulum This problem may face clock with anchor the novice in two different Mescapement can ways. Firstly as a clock be difficult unless you have that runs well in its present a little guidance. Of all position but that you need these the longcase clock to move. Or as a clock is trickiest because the that is new to you and that long pendulum calls for you need to assemble greater care at setting it in and set going for the very balance, usually known as first time—such as one you have just inherited or bought at auction. If it is the first of these then you can attempt to ignore my notes about levelling. But floors in different rooms or different houses seldom agree Figure 1. When moving an on levels, and you may eight-day longcase clock you eventually have to follow need to hold the weight lines through the whole process in place by taping round the of setting the clock level accessible part of the barrel. In and in beat. a complicated musical clock, Sometimes you can such as this by Thomas Lister of persuade a clock to run by Halifax, it is vital. having it at a silly angle, or by pushing old pennies or wooden wedges under the seatboard. But this is hardly ideal and next time you move the clock you start with the same performance all over again. setting it ‘in beat’. These My suggestion is that you notes deal principally with bite the bullet right away longcase clocks. The same and set up your clock to a escapement is often found true, repeatable level as on table clocks, bracket described below. clocks, hooded clocks and Whichever is the some lantern clocks, but situation, what you must with these we can often get not do is attempt to move round the problem more a longcase clock fully easily by leaning the clock assembled. If you feel to one side or the other till it strong enough to try you will obliges. Clocks with a short almost certainly damage (verge) pendulum are less the clock or yourself or fussy about being level. both. If the clock was set clocksmagazine.com July 2019 9 do it yourself for the first time you may nailed to the inside case uprights. These find this slow or tricky but most people 30-hour clocks have just one weight but can manage it with a bit of patience. If otherwise the treatment for either is the you get into difficulty to the point where same. Always pack the movement-with- you have to admit defeat, you can always dial upright in a box for transporting, call in an expert at that time. When you packed all round with paper or polythene. watch him do it you will see how very Be especially careful not to let it lean simple it is. An expert can assemble backwards, where the crutch can easily a clock in three or four minutes. As a be bent, and that is the major cause of beginner it may take you ten. clocks being out of beat. Many years ago a lady from far If you are not used to doing this you Lancashire came to see me and bought probably need a second pair of hands, as two longcase clocks. She wanted them there are moments when you may need delivered that same day as a surprise someone to hold the movement safe from for her husband. This was impossible for falling off. But it is quite possible to do it me. She decided to take them both home single-handed. herself in her estate car and I explained Remove the hood. It slides forward. how to assemble them. She told me later Watch out the hood door does not swing that when her husband came home from open and hit you in the face. If it does, work that day he was amazed to find both don’t drop it—just stand there and take clocks up and running. He absolutely the pain! refused to believe that she carried them Wind the weights up till the weight home and assembled them on her own. pulleys just show when the trunk door is There is a sequel. Some years later open. By that time most of each weight she phoned me to say they were moving line will be coiled neatly around each up properly to a measurable level, then to North Wales and could I remind her drum. These are usually catgut but moving it is very easy. But it probably how to move the clocks. I did, and she sometimes are wire. If you leave too was not, and so these notes will talk you did, and phoned me later to say all was much line hanging down it makes for through the way it should be done, and well. So it can be done by an absolute awkward handling. Too little line means will make it much easier to repeat the beginner. you cannot see the pulleys to remove or process in the future. Once you have re-fit the weights, as the pulleys will be done this you will feel like a complete Dismantling the clock hidden behind the door frame top. I find expert and well able to advise friends An eight-day movement, the kind 1ft of visible length is about right. With a how to go about it. mostly described below, will probably 30-hour clock there are no weight lines A professional clock man can do this be attached to the board it sits on (its to worry about, just a continuous rope or job easily and quickly, but you will have to seaboard) by bolts. Thirty-hour clocks chain, which takes care of itself. pay for his expertise and time. When you may often be loose with the seatboard Put masking tape round the neatly- 10 July 2019 clocksmagazine.com Figure 2 (left). This regulator happens to have the weights wound at just about the right height for moving. High enough to avoid a struggle with long trailing lines and low enough to see the pulleys to hook on the weights. Figure 3 (above). This wooden plank loaded here represents the backboard of a longcase lock. It is 9ft long, far longer than the backboard of any longcase clock you are ever likely to see. Figure 4 (right). The best place to position a spirit level is in front of the glass hood door. This example is a hooded clock. It is even more important to set a wall clock level than a longcase as any lean from vertical will be more apparent. coiled weight lines on the barrel to Sellotape will not hold the lines down and let the lines free. Do not remove the keep the lines secure from unwinding as they will vary from being slightly weights until you have the lines taped themselves. If you don’t then once the greasy to very oily. You need masking down securely. weight tension is removed their springy tape. Plastic parcel tape will do at a pinch Take off the weights after making sure nature will cause them to try to unwind but is unruly and not as secure. Most you mark them right and left. The strike and get in a tangled mess. Tangled lines of each line will be coiled neatly round weight (on almost all clocks the left one) are very awkward and time-consuming each drum. Put the masking tape to is often heavier than the right. If you put to sort out. If you try to run a clock cover most of (at least the top, accessible the wrong weight on the clock may run with tangled lines it will probably keep section of) the lines in the same direction but fail to strike, and that can cause the stopping as overlapping coils nip those as the lines, that is across the barrels. If clock to jam completely, which will mean underneath and need to be freed one by you try to put the tape along the length of calling in your expert. It may be easiest one. the barrel (end to end) it will come loose to leave removing the pendulum till last, clocksmagazine.com July 2019 11 TRANSPORTING THE CLOCK If you are moving your clock to a different house always try to carry it yourself. The only kind of clock likely to be a bit daunting is a longcase and you may be surprised to learn that most ordinary family cars can accommodate this type with the possible exception of very small cars or very large clocks. It is a matter of how you do it, and we are not talking of such drastic steps as removing seats. It does not matter whether the car is a hatchback or a type with a separate boot. As a dealer in longcase clocks for over 50 years I usually persuaded buyers to take the clock home in their own car, whenever possible. This forced them to pay attention to how to handle and assemble it, which meant they could do it again at some future time if need be. I always specified that if they had any problem assembling the clock or getting it running I would come across myself and sort it out. Never once did I have to I did not anticipate his bringing decorates that room, carefully removes Figure 5. The long bent rod of this old 30- his clock first, puts it back again later hour longcase clock is called the crutch.